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History of Novdahain
The history of Novdahain is remembered more through plays, song and legends than tomes and manuscripts. Often noble houses will have small personal libraries, but the greatest in the Realm are the Palace library and the library of the College of Volshebni. The latter, though larger, has fallen into disrepair as the influence and prestige of the College wanes. This article is part of a series on the Realm of Novdahain, for the other sections, see; * The Capital of Novdahain * The Leddic Domains * Voynasa Provinces * Karelian Marches * Personalities of Novdahain * Organisations of Novdahain * Religion and the Higher Arts in Novdahain History Since 700LN Current Events It is expected that Grand Prince Nikolai Ordin, who ascended to the throne in 719 LN, will not see the end of his term. Ill health and age plague him, and thus the capital gears itself for the next election of the Grand Prince and High Council, the first since open trade with Drenden and the Siege of Sudniv. In a prosperous and wealthy city, nobles jostle for position, while those on the periphery grow wary of renewed invasion by Baarsk or the forces of Xhahon-Dor. Relations with Krontiz have thawed somewhat, and trade negotiations are underway, but it is unclear whether these will be able to overcome the vast reservoir of ill-will the citizens of the Capital still bear towards the orcs. Silence of the Gods - 9DE - 15DE The Silence of the Gods swept over Novdahain in 9DE and was the cause of much outcry, terror and fear. It was assumed that the disappearance of the Gods, which the Faith made no attempt to hide from the people, was a ploy of the Baarskins and their dark sea god. The armies were mustered, but when no attack came from Baarsk, people quickly deserted back to their homes and families. It was during this time that other, sometimes older, practices made a resurgence in Novdahain, including spirit worship and occultism, which was aided by the influx of people from areas such as Ruhx. Although the Silence ended in 15DE, many of these practices continue or grow in Novdahain, as people look warily to the sermons of clerics, and even to the White House of Belikrov, where the Exarch can sometimes be found. Renovation of the Fleet - 4 DE With Xhahon-Dor's forces in retreat and the oceans safe to sail, the Grand Prince Nikolai Ordin announced a renovation of the Merchant Fleet, using designed purchased from Drenden, which would now feature as a major trading partner despite their previous arms dealing in Baarsk. Within three years the Novdahain fleet was able to trade openly with Drenden and the rets of Etan, as well as the Amaran Sea, Marn and Westmost. This event has marked the rapid growth in wealth, luxury and prosperity for the Realm. The Siege of Sudniv - 3 DE For more information on this event, see The Siege of Sudniv campaign entry. The Siege of Sudniv was a major battle in which the combined forces of Xhahon-Dor and Baarsk broke against the ancient coastal fortress in a bid to gain entrance not only to the Voynasa and Leddic lands, but also Lake Imandra and Novdahain itself. The Novdahain forces were aided by a band of adventurers and later the Exarch Belikrov herself, and together they managed to ward off the attack and subdue one of Xhahon-Dor's seaborn monstrosities, which has guarded Sudniv ever since. Arrival of Belikrov - 1 DE One of the first Exarchs to arrive, Belikrov manifested in the Karelian Marches in 720 LN, thereafter known as 1DE. Causing revulsion and worship in equal measure, the cult of Belikrov spread slowly from the Karelian Marches, their grim ritual of reanimation spawning countless fireside tales throughout the realm. Belikrov herself seemed content to move with her cult at this time, although later she would become increasingly absent from the cult and the Realm. War with Xhahon-Dor - 717 LN For more information on the fall of Farwatch and the war with Xhahon-Dor, see the Shadows in the Water campaign entry. By 717LN Xhahon-Dor's forces had crushed the garrison at Farwatch and subsumed Mahaarsk and Baarsk, waging war on Novdahain, Berenjer and across the Amaran Sea. Novdahain's trade suffered terribly at this time, as relations were still frosty with Krontiz and no safe ports were to be found. The nation creaked under the burden of war until the appearance of Belikrov and the Siege of Sudniv. Battle of Borodi - 707 LN The Battle of Borodi was the latest in the conflicts between Novdahain and the Krontiz Empire, and the first such incident since the sacking of Novdahain in 664 LN. Now, a generation later, a fresh army from Krontiz marched on Novdahain, incited by a mixture of diplomatic insults and unchecked raiding by pirates along Krontiz's Vandalashka coast, which they blamed on Novdahain. Unlike previous engagements however, the Battle of Borodi is hardly sung about, or even mentioned. Despite the loss of over 20'000 men and the return of only 15'000, the exact circumstances of the battle and what transpired are unknown. What is known is that the Krontiz army similarly suffered, and retreated. Veterans of the battle speak little about it, and the generals and captains that survived are content to say that the orcish menace was pushed back, and that the city was saved. War with Baarsk - 698 LN War with Baarsk resumed in 698 LN and would remain sporadic during the following 30 years. The Northern Company, originally from Drenden and operating out of their bases at Farwatch and in Baarsk itself, had armed the Baarskins with gunpowder and other weapons, in exchange for mining rights in the Kaarvona Mountains and favourable trade with the city. Thus the tribes of Baarsk marched south and besieged Baar's End, beginning a new chapter in conflict between the two peoples. While unable to take the town, the expanse between the Baarskin hinterland the Baar's end became a functional no-man's land over the next 30 years, with small armies and forays marching ceaselessly across it. After Baarski fell under the influence of Xhahon-Dor in 717LN, the war took on a new dimension and increased in ferocity, culminating in the Siege of Sudniv in 3DE Pre-History - 190-220 LN The fire crackled and spat in the center of the town square, throwing plumes of smoke into the moon-lit sky. The festival was held at the first full moon every autumn in Inverni, and folk from the outlying villages and beyond would travel in to meet relatives, sell their wares, and see the fires. From every watchtower they blazed, in every square they roared, and around all of them sat young and old, wrapped in cloaks and furs to ward off the wind, sharing stories from long ago. But Rohi, if we needed the Kareli to fight the barbarians, why didn't we cross the lake sooner? Ah, if we only we could child. The Byalo woods were home to a terrible beast that haunted the shore of the lake. White is was, and long, like a great snake. Scaleless and pale, it would creep out from the forest with its host of spirits and slay anything it found with a deadly mist. Then the spirits would wash its skin with the blood of the dead so that it could live forever. A terrible beast! But lord Ziramyr slew it with his mighty sword Arzha, and founded a town on its warm body. Then we crossed the lake to our friends the Kareli. And then we killed the barbarians! Yes child, then we took the fight to the Voyna. Ziramyr marched from his new city of Novdahain, which he founded with the Kareli, and your ancestors marched south from here. None could withstand us then, our armor was thick and our weapons sharp, and our blood ran hot with conquest. Rohi looked up at the smoke curling in the bright night sky. The fire was at his back and he was hot in his furs. How much changes in 500 years. What valor, what glory lost to time and trickery. He looked at the faces of the children and reconsidered. They did not deserve war, they didn't deserve the lean winters and bloody summers, the fear of the axe or the black-clad rider home. He prayed they escaped the wars to come, birthed always from conflicts past, which washed ceaselessly against their people like a red tide. Fall of Orjer and the First War with Krontiz - 263-286 LN The theatre was crowded as the play began. "The First March of the Goz" was a classic, and Varno had seen it a dozen times. Even though he had just come with his friends to fill and evening and find a place indoors to drink, he found himself cheering and booing with the crowd. '' ''First the helpless Orjeri ran onto the stage. For this production they had chosen three young actresses and an old man to represent them, a wise decision as the men in the crowd cheered and whistled while the women rolled their eyes. Beneath a thin wooden prop of a city wall they fell into the arms of a brave knight of Novdahain, and turned in horror to look upon the Orc menace pursuing them. A swordfight ensued and red ribbons poured out of the Orc actor's ragtag armour. Varno turned away from the scene, one of his friends had made some lewd joke about one of the actresses that had set the whole row roaring. He knew the rest anyway, monologues, professions of love, a war-torn romance and a final battle between Novdahain and Krontiz in the Passage of Nalgoz. The whole play lasted just over an hour, and they stumbled back into the snow-laden streets to find their way home. The Second War With Krontiz - 349-367 LN Does anyone know what ended the second war with Krontiz?' The tutor turned to his class, all nobly born children, all utterly bored. One spoke up, a young girl called Alyssa. Her raven hair was cut short like a boys, and she wore a pendant of the Faith on her neck. A smart child, he thought, but an outcast.'' '''A treaty sir? The treaty of Vandalashka?' '' ''One of the boys turned to her; 'We'd never sign a treaty with the orcs, idiot. They can't even write, how can you make a treaty with savages who don't even write? Now now Boryis, where did you hear that? Alyssa is right, we did sign a treaty with Krontiz that ended our wars for nearly two hundred years. And you'd be surprised Boryis, I'd say there are classes just like this one in Krontizan right now, with smart little girls and angry little boys too. Well if there are they're probably learning how to kill us all! The tutor opened his mouth to chastise the boy, but he hesitated. The boy's uncle and some of his cousins had been lost in the Battle of Borodi not five years ago. None knew how they died, and none wanted to speak of it. Alright Boryis, calm down now. Not all wars can be won with battles and knights and swords. Sometimes the first step in stopping violence is to stop using it yourself. Petyr, go help Boryis wash his face. We'll have lunch in the garden and then come back for arithmetic. The Third War with Krontiz and the Sack of Novdahain 659-664 LN Lesya picked her way up the ruined wall to the watchtower. It was spring time, and the Narrow had yet to be filled with the markets, performers and fairs that would attract crowds from the early morning to the middle of the night. Flowers and shrubs poked out of the cracks in the old wall as she climbed the broken section, emerging now into the sun after a long winter under snow. She reached the top and walked along the broken parapet, sighing as she saw more people had leaned their shacks against the bottom of the wall. 'Well, as long as they aren't taking stones from it.' she muttered as she picked her way forwards to the slumped watchtower. Inside a nest of pigeons had roosted, and they fluttered out the gaping hole in the wall as she entered. The floor was cracked and broken stone, and a large darkly-coloured rock rested in the corner, no doubt flung from a Krontiz catapult all those years ago. She surveyed the scene, deciding pretty quickly that nothing much had changed since she had made her report last year. The walls of Tosno were still completely dilapidated, unmanned and, she admitted, probably beyond repair. From the hole in the wall she could see the new red walls of Novdahain proper, and Salkasil Palace looming in the distance. She'd have to venture over there to submit her report, collect her wage, and return to her position as clerk in Tosno town hall. '' ''A change in texture at her feet caught her attention. She looked down, expecting to have crushed the pigeon eggs. Instead she found herself standing on a burlap sack, covered in dust and dirt. She fingered around its edges and heaved it out of its hole. Inside was a mound of coins, copper, silver, even gold. She recognized some of them as Novdahain, but the others were stamped differently, a profile of a crowned orcish head adorned them, and letters she could not understand were stamped throughout. She marveled at her discovery; a secret cache by one of the looters in the Krontiz army. They probably hid them here to collect on their march home after they left the city in ruins. '' ''She had heard the stories before, usually told in cheers and roars in taverns late at night. How the reinforcements had arrived, driven out the Krontiz garrison left in the smoldering city. How they had strung up every orc they could lay their hands on, and chased any others up through the Marches and into the wilderness. Lesya held the edge of the sack in her hands, deep in thought. She would hide it here again, and come back to count the coins later. Maybe she could exchange the Krontiz ones in Pahlen Square. A fortune lay at her fingertips, yet as she looked out of the ruined watchtower, all she could feel was sadness. Category:In-World Concepts Category:Novdahain Category:Farthrone